10 Event Florist Tips Every Good Planner Should Know

Without them, a fab occasion can end up drab real quick!

Are you planning an event and want a crash course from our London event florist team at Blooming Haus?

You’re in luck!

Today, we’re sharing all the top tips and tricks we think every planner worth their salt should know.

If you’re attending a summer celebratory event piquing the senses for guests happens more naturally when you use the colours, textures, and scents synonymous with the season.

Whether or not we’re aware of it, our brains are wired for it. We ARE nature, after all!

This doesn’t mean that the event flowers have to be predictable and boring; quite the opposite!

A great event florist works consistently to break the mould and to deliver the unexpected; it just means the designs will FEEL harmonious, enhancing the experience rather than appearing separate or alien.

Other perks of choosing seasonal blooms include getting the best price for your design and minimizing the global impact by reducing the likeliness of your event florist having to ship in blooms from overseas.

Local and seasonal blooms also mean the installations will look fresher for longer too!

To put it plainly (generally the best) event florists are artsy type people.

They have studied and made design principles their craft.

(Arguably) one of the most important design principles is colour.

Why? Because colour affects the tone dramatically, largely due to our psychology.

Hence, the best event florists also deeply understand people and how their brains work.

For example, colours that people automatically associate with luxury are white, black, or red.

Think deep purples and greys if you’re planning for a moody or mysterious atmosphere.

Our top tip would be to think about the intention of your event and do some colour psychology homework on it first before getting creative with different shades and contrasts.

Planning a corporate event? You may find this blog useful too:

“Tips on Planning a Successful Corporate Event“

Of course, for all planners, you need to take into account the client’s requirements, desires, or brand and make it work for them.

Do not overlook the venue and decor either! Rather than feeling that the venue may limit your colour options, see it as an opportunity to explore how you can manipulate the setting.

Event florist tip number 3!

You’ll usually have a limited window available to ensure flowers are fresh for your event.

So, it makes sense to source them within a reasonable distance from the venue.

Doing this is also a sustainable way of working, as it positively impacts your carbon footprint by reducing the transportation needed to acquire blooms for your event flower designs.

We’re huge supporters of sustainable practices as we believe in giving back to Mother Nature for the gift of flowers she makes to us.

For every event flowers project we complete, we arrange for a tree to be planted in the name of our clients.

A point to consider if you’re sourcing locally in this way is that you may need to be flexible.

If it’s not possible to acquire your first choice of blooms from a local supplier, you’ll need to have a plan B in place.

You may be pleased to know we recently added luxe vase arrangements to our online flower shop for smaller, more intimate events.

If you’re a little last-minute planner on this occasion, you’ll be pleased to know we have UK next-day delivery too!

When you’re organising an event, there may be attendees for whom certain flowers have special cultural significance.

You need to be aware of this to avoid embarrassment or offence.

It’s also essential to discover if allergies are likely to be an issue before you choose flowers for your event.

There may also be other audience-related factors to take into account.

For example, are they likely to be sustainable focussed?

In the current climate, where protecting the planet is a major concern, this focus is common and should be reflected in your floral choices.

For example, are you steering away from the use of materials such as floral foam, which are damaging to the environment?

Event florist tip number 5! Take the weather conditions into account.

Why? Because flowers are sensitive to the elements.

You need to consider heat, humidity, rain, a potential drop in room temperature etc if you want to ensure your blooms stay fresh for the time they are required.

For example, if you’re planning a summer event in a marquee, humidity can be damaging to delicate blooms like hydrangea.

At Christmas, cold temperatures or even something as trivial as a draft can damage the appearance of a poinsettia rapidly!

You can cover the basics by ensuring:

– Your flowers are kept out of direct sunlight.
– You don’t place flowers too close to heat sources such as radiators or open fires.
– You protect flowers that are being transported during periods of cold weather.

As professionals that specialise in luxury floristry, we know how essential it is to invest a flower budget wisely.

There are some top tips and tricks to get the most bang for your buck!

For example, if your budget is limited, one statement installation often has more of an impact than thinly spread decorations.

Floral displays should always complement the event and enhance the intention of the occasion.

So, the aim isn’t to fill every space with flowers.

It is to tell a story in a way which everyone will remember.

Event florists worth their salt are able to do this with budgets of all sizes.

You may not realise that your flower and food choices could clash.

But this can definitely be the case.

Flowers with strong fragrances can affect guests’ palettes that spoil their appreciation of the food served at an event. 

So, if you’re considering choosing heavily fragrant blooms for your event, use them in arrangements that are a good distance from where food is served.

Take a look at our journal entry for more useful floral arrangement information.

“A Guide To Flower Arrangements For Events“

Flowers only look their best for a short period of time.

So, it’s essential to get the timing exactly right when creating floral designs for an event.

Once our design is complete, we ensure that we get flowers for events as close to the occasion as possible while allowing enough time for construction.

Then, we prime them and ensure they are hydrated and conditioned correctly for optimum results.

Each type of flower is different in terms of how quickly it opens and when it looks its best.

So, a good knowledge of flowers is useful.

Treating them promptly to maximise their longevity and impact at the event is essential.

Professional event florist planning makes problems with event flowers less likely to happen.

However, all blooms are controlled by Mother Nature, so they can be unpredictable.

It’s possible that a particular type of flower may be in short supply or the supplier themselves may have logistical issues.

Having contingencies in place stops such problems from impacting the look and feel of an event.

We always monitor our supply chains carefully so we know if problems are likely to happen and can mitigate them.

We also find it’s a good idea to have extra stems for event displays in case any aren’t perfect and will look out of place.

Flowers don’t have to be thrown away once an event ends.

Many people who are hosting weddings or other social occasions encourage guests to take some with them when they leave.

It’s also worth connecting with local organisations that may be only too willing to receive them.

Look out for shelters, nursing homes, and other local organisations to that event flowers can be donated to.

They can usually be contacted using social media, so it’s a very simple thing to do

We hope our event florist tips help you feel more confident in your planning.

Whether you plan for yourself or go with an event florist, we hope this blog highlighted the questions you need to ask yourself or whoever you hire.

Our event florist team at Blooming Haus have helped to plan many standout events – from Vogue Forces for Change dinner to private, more intimate events.

Breaking the mould is what we do best!

We can work solo or within a team to make sure our designs have the desired impact.

Our creations are often the focal point of the client’s brand positioning for corporate events.

For example, the picture above shows blooms we created for Boden’s new clothing collection launch.

The collection is bold, colourful and all about prints!

We view event flowers as floral mise-en-scènes that should breathe real life into the purpose of the occasion.

This is also true when it comes to weddings – the goal is to tell the couple’s unique love story, just like we did for Tara Angelou and Joe Mossberg here.

If you have an event planning project that requires event flowers, we’d relish the opportunity to be involved.

Want to know more about our event florist team at Blooming Haus?

Pop your questions in the comments, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.